


reasons for excuses

by sunnilee



Series: best laid plans: contingencies [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Day 6: AU, F/M, Fluff, Post-Relationship, bc i can, more sleepy-time tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24573295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnilee/pseuds/sunnilee
Summary: Sylvain hasn't always slept well, what with his mind working against him in the darkest time of night.But he has found something that does help in Ingrid.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: best laid plans: contingencies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776142
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47
Collections: Sylvgrid week 2020





	reasons for excuses

Sylvain wakes to blinding sunlight, a crick in his neck, and a mouthful of blonde hair.

Yet he’s never slept better.

The blankets had been kicked off the bed in the summer heat, but his limbs remain thoroughly tangled with Ingrid’s as she continued to sleep through the early hours of the morning. She shifts slightly, digging an elbow into his side while tucking her face further into his neck, presumably to hide away from the light.

It’s not often that he’s awake before she is, with her being the earlier riser of the two of them, but he relishes every time it happens. Back in high school, he used to whine about getting up in the early mornings but doing it anyway for the swim team. In college, he scheduled all his courses for his afternoon to avoid exactly that.

Now, with someone to wake up to, Sylvain finally gets why Ingrid finds mornings peaceful. There’s something oddly endearing, intimate even, about watching your partner sleep. Face smoothed, breathing slow, guard down. There’s so much unspoken trust in the simple action of falling asleep next to someone… his heart constricts in his chest just thinking about it.

And how Ingrid holds so much trust in _him._

The first time he caught Ingrid watching him sleep, he teased her _endlessly._ “Aw, Ing, you like watching me sleep? That’s creepy…”

She’d promptly shoved him away and covered his face with a pillow while he laughed, eventually grabbing her wrists and wrestling her closer. He smiled widely at the bright pink painting her cheeks and kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s okay. I think it’s cute.”

Huffing, she scowled at him and headbutt his chin. “Shut up. I just… I like seeing you well-rested.” One of her hands broke free of his grip and traced the skin under his eye. “Your dark circles are coming back. Are you having nightmares again?”

He caught her hand with his and laced their fingers together, eyes cast down as he tightens his grip. “It’s not so bad.”

He didn’t see the way her lips purse, but he’d been grateful she didn’t push it further. He’d only ever briefly mentioned what he suffered at the hands of his brother, but never at length. Sylvain means to talk to her about it. He does.

He's just never found the right time, with her still shouldering the financial pressures of her entire family and he doesn't want to burden her more.

He always feels selfish, asking her to stay overnight more days than not... but he can’t help the way his heart calms, after he wakes with a stifled scream and cold sweat trickling down his neck, to see her there, clutching at his chest in her sleep, as if she could squeeze the nightmares out of him. Instead of resigning the rest of his night to staring at the shadows of his walls, hoping they don’t shape into something tangible, he can close his eyes and let Ingrid’s warmth ground him.

So, every time she asks to sleep over, he's more than happy to oblige.

But ever since she graduated from college, she’s had less and less reason to stay over at his apartment, no longer needing a place close to campus to crash after late-nights at the library. As such, he’s come up with more and more excuses to ask her to stay.

Excuses. Like, _it’s already so late, I’ll drive you home in the morning_.

Or, _stay over for dinner, it’s been hours since you last ate._

Even, _stay with me, please_ , on his more restless nights, when Miklan haunts the darkest corners of his mind and he doesn’t want to admit just _holding_ her keeps the monsters at bay.

Excuses after excuses because he still can’t get the real reason out of his throat whenever they’re together. _Move in with me._

He’s terrified of what it means, and mostly terrified of the aftermath if she says no. So, another excuse spilled from his mouth the night before. “Movie night, Ing?”

Ingrid stirs on top of him and Sylvain slams his eyes shut, evening out his breathing. Even though he’s woken up before Ingrid a few times, he wants to keep it secret that he watches her sleep too. Her weight begins to shift off him and Sylvain barely suppresses a shiver when her leg brushes against him as she leans over him. Gentle fingers sweep his hair away from his forehead and a pair of lips press softly against his skin. Warmth blooms in his chest as they travel to his eyelids, his temples, his cheeks, and finally, the corner of his mouth. His arms itch to wrap around her, but he enjoys being on the receiving end of her morning routine far too much.

She lingers for a few moments before sitting up completely and swings her legs over the side of the bed, a small sigh escaping her as she stretches out her stiff joints. Sylvain peeks open one eye to sneak a glance. He loves the way the sun catches in Ingrid’s hair when it’s loose across her back and how the skin of her shoulders glow in the morning. In a manner he hopes is convincing, he flops over to throw an arm around her waist, face rolling into a pillow as he continues to pretend to sleep. She’s told him before that he gets clingy whenever she moves to leave, and he vehemently maintains that he does _not._

But today? He decides to use it to keep her with him in bed. For a little while longer. Before she steps out of his apartment and he has to come up with another excuse for her to stay.

He’s rewarded with a tiny laugh and fingers in his hair, slowly combing through. “You’re really committed to this, aren’t you?”

Sylvain does his best _not_ to freeze. _She’s never caught him before… or maybe she has and hasn’t said anything?_ Ingrid continues stroking his hair, humming lightly. “You don’t have to keep making excuses to ask me to stay over.” Her hand moves to his back and starts tracing absent circles, occasionally trailing down his spine as her humming fades. Ingrid sits in silence for a while, just her fingers dancing along his skin as he does his best to breathe evenly. Then he hears her sigh again, her palm resting flat against him. She covers the arm around her waist with her own and brings his hand to her lips, kissing each of his fingertips, one at a time. Sylvain’s heart is pounding against his ribcage and oddly enough, he feels tears prick behind his eyes. Ingrid laces her fingers with his and squeezes. “I’d stay with you forever, Sylvain. If you asked me to.”

With one last kiss to his hair, Ingrid fully untangles herself from him to start her day, slipping out of bed and taking her heat with her. Sylvain lies there, chill settling onto his skin, as tears leak out of the corner of his eyes and a wobbly smile forms into the pillow.

_Forever, huh?_

**Author's Note:**

> happy sylvgrid week day 6: AU
> 
> I am depleting my reserves of sylvgrid fics and this is the second to last one that is written and completed :'). This takes place a few months-1 yr after "lay them to rest", when sylvain is more secure in his relationship with ingrid, but just as insecure with himself.
> 
> I DO HAVE MORE IDEAS... I just cannot in good conscience write them at the moment until I get my other priorities in order.
> 
> until then!!


End file.
